Happy New Year

 

Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com

I don’t think it’s too much to hope for a better year in 2022, so I’m sending you all my best wishes for good things ahead!

There are a few different New Year’s traditions in my family that come from our Greek culture. The one I’ll be indulging in tomorrow is making Loukoumades, or Greek doughnuts. These were a highlight of the holidays growing up, and I thought I’d share my mom’s recipe. Enjoy!

Loukoumades (Greek Doughnuts)

This recipe makes enough for at least 6 people. Feel free to halve the amounts to make less.

Like with clouds, it can be fun to try to figure out what the different shapes remind you of

(Apologies for the lack of precise measurements– my mom was one of those cooks who just knew how to make things. Luckily the recipe doesn’t need to be too precise.)

2 highball glasses/tall drinking glasses of warm water

3 soup spoons yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 soup spoons vegetable oil (or olive oil, if you want to be authentic)

2 to 3 highball glasses/tall drinking glasses all-purpose flour

Mix together water, yeast, salt, and oil in a large bowl. Add flour, mixing in thoroughly. Batter should have a similar consistency to pancake batter (not too thick nor runny). Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let sit until mixture has doubled in bulk.

Once the batter is ready, pour vegetable oil several inches deep into a saucepan (don’t fill the pan more than halfway). Heat oil over high heat. To test if it’s hot enough, carefully drop a small amount of batter in; if the batter floats and oil bubbles around, you’re ready to start making the loukoumades. (If the batter immediately turn brown, the oil is too hot. Turn it down and test again in a few minutes.)

Lower heat to medium-low. Carefully drop in scant tablespoons of batter (the loukoumades puff up, so you don’t want to make them too big). Don’t crowd the pan. Fry loukoumades, turning them until they are lightly golden and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl or large dish lined with paper towels. Continue until you’re out of batter, adding more oil to the pan, if necessary.

SYRUP

2 cups unpasteurized honey

3/4 cup to 1 cup water (depends on whether you prefer a thicker or thinner syrup)

Simmer water and honey together in a small saucepan for 3 to 4 minutes. Lower heat to minimum and keep warm.

TO SERVE:

If you prefer crispy loukoumades like I do, pour some syrup into an individual bowl, sprinkle with ground cinnamon, and dip loukoumades into the syrup as you’re eating them.

If you prefer softer/sweeter loukoumades, place them in a serving bowl. Pour the syrup over them and sprinkle with cinnamon. Eat while still warm.

You can also reheat loukoumades in the oven at 350F (175C) for about 15 minutes. Loukoumades are best eaten the same day.

How to Pronounce:

 

Wishing you a sweet 2022,

Aspasía S. Bissas

[Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com] 

Making Crème Anglaise

It's been a while since my last post: sorry, everyone. Since I got back from Paris in April (sigh) life seems to be busy busy. Not that it's been all work. I finished a needlepoint, broke out my bead supplies for some necklace making, re-potted plants, worked on a paint-by-numbers, and am still sorting through photos from my trip (I have a tendency to go a bit overboard with a camera). I'm also working hard on editing my novel (stay tuned). And when I can, I do a little cooking.

A few days ago I decided to try making the Sweet Jam Crêpes with Crème Anglaise from Crêpes (edited by Camille Le Foll). The crêpes themselves were just okay, but the Crème Anglaise, a sweet vanilla sauce, was worth sharing.

You don't need many ingredients to make Crème Anglaise: eggs, vanilla, sugar, milk, and cornstarch

The recipe uses only egg yolks; I saved the whites to make meringues

I liked the effect of the steamy edges in this photo :)

Here you can see the Crème is starting to thicken and cling to the sides of the pan and the whisk. I cooked it for a few more minutes after this.

The completed Crème was still on the runny side, similar in consistency to what's shown in the book.

I found the recipe a little vague, but manageable (although I wouldn't recommend this book to cooking newbies). I'd never made Crème Anglaise before and I didn't know how thick it's supposed to be. Using the photo in the book as a guide, I left it on the runny side. I don't see why you couldn't keep cooking until you get whatever consistency you prefer (and if you cook it long enough, you'll end up with a delicious vanilla pudding). Serve Crème Anglaise with crêpes, waffles, pancakes, or fresh fruit (I had some left over and it was excellent with sliced strawberries). I think it would also be good served with cake.

Crème Anglaise

[My notes in brackets]

3 egg yolks
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract and a little of the milk [I used 1/4 cup of the milk].

Bring the remaining milk to a boil in a heavy-based saucepan. Pour the hot milk over the egg yolks mixture, stirring, and then pour it back into the pan [This is called tempering and the book neglects to mention that you need to add the hot milk **slowly** to the egg mixture or you'll end up with scrambled eggs. You can pour the hot milk in a thin stream while you stir, or you can add the hot milk to the egg mixture a tablespoon at a time until all the milk has been added]. Cook over a very gentle heat, stirring until the Crème Anglaise thickens. [The time depends on how thick you want the resulting Crème. To get it to the stage where it has thickened and clings to the back of a spoon takes about 20 minutes.] (Do not boil or the mixture might curdle.)

Still have questions? Feel free to ask in the comments. 

[Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com] 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 6 (with Recipes)

My last day in Provence was one of the best. It started with a visit to the weekly market, or marché. The one in Carpentras has been held every Friday since the middle ages, which in itself is amazing. I wish we had markets like this in Canada (and I really wish I had taken some pictures--although you can see a few photos here or here). First of all, the food selection puts the average farmers' market to shame. Not only can you buy everything from honey to eggs, bread, cheese, meat, seafood, and sweets (almond nougat is a local specialty) but you have your choice of several vendors. Gina has her favourites in all categories (although it was a bit of an issue when it turned out her seafood guy was on vacation). Besides food there's all kind of clothing and shoes, costume jewellery, soap (something Provence is famous for), art, trinkets, sewing machines (!), toys, pottery (I so wish I could have bought some, but I was worried it wouldn't have made it home in one piece) and--my personal favourite--linens (I ended up buying a selection of gorgeous Provencal tablecloths).

I also tried a sample of blue cheese. No, not the kind of cheese marbled with veins of tasty blue molds--cheese that was dyed blue. Smurf blue. The vendor claimed it was naturally dyed with lavender, but I don't think so. Lavender doesn't yield that vivid shade of blue and neither do natural dyes in general. I don't even know what made me want to try smurf cheese, but Gina's complete disgust at it amused me, and that prompted me to go for it. I'm weird that way. It actually tasted pretty good--but not good enough that I felt compelled to try the samples of green and red cheese also on offer.

Back at Maison Trevier, Gina and I got to work on our last lesson: Aioli (with seafood and vegetables--also known as Le Grand Aioli) and Cherry Clafoutis.

Veggies to be served with aioli

 

The veggies were steamed before being placed in the casserole dish with pieces of whitefish

Steamed shrimp were also added before the dish was covered and everything was baked at a low temperature

Gina didn't realize her hands were damp when she tried sprinkling piment d’Espélette (Basque pimento) over the veggies :)

The preparation of aioli is simple but needs focus and so I couldn't take photos of the process. If you've ever made mayonnaise, it's similar but heavy on garlic. Basically you combine egg yolks with some salt and pepper, crushed/minced garlic, and olive oil added in streams to a running food processor/blender/hand mixer--or as you whisk vigorously, if you've got stronger arms and more stamina than I have--until it forms a thick sauce (like mayonnaise). I didn't record amounts because we just added until we got the right consistency, but here are some recipes that are similar to what I made with Gina, if you'd like to give it a try. Note, our version contained only raw egg yolks and (as far as I remember, no vinegar or lemon juice).

Le Grand Aioli

David Lebovitz's version

Provence & Beyond blog

Cherries are a specialty of the Vaucluse region of Provence--lucky me they were in season while I was there. Gina takes the extra step of roasting the cherries before making the clafoutis.

Cherries are baked in a thin batter that was reminiscent of pancake batter.

 

Clafoutis is one of the few dishes Chef Gina Trevier has a set recipe for--and here it is:

CLAFOUTIS`

Serves 6

Fresh cherries – enough to cover the bottom of a 9X9 cake pan

3 eggs

3 Tbs organic cane sugar

1 1/2 Tbs organic wheat flour

1 1/2Tbs organic rice flour

3 cups organic milk or almond milk

A few drops of olive oil

1-    Rinse cherries and remove stems but not the pits. 

2-    Put a few drops of olive oil in the bottom of a cake pan.

3-    Cover the bottom of the pan with the cherries and place in the oven at 300°F for about 15 minutes.  The secret to a perfect clafoutis is to remove the excess moisture from the fruit.

4-    While the fruit is in the oven, put the  eggs  and sugar in a bowl and whisk until foamy.

5-    Add the flours and whisk again.

6-    Add the milk and whisk again.

7-    Pour the thin mixture over the cherries.

8-    Put in 350°F oven for about 40 minutes until the top is golden. Serve at room temperature. Do not cool in the refrigerator.

Le Grand Aioli. Steamed mussels were also served on the side.

Le Grand Aioli: Steamed & baked veggies and fish with a healthy helping of aioli and bread on the side. I forgot to take a shot of this with my camera, so this is a phone pic.

The clafoutis was also delicious as leftovers--I ended up having a piece for my last breakfast at Maison Trevier

Although the aioli was excellent (and potent), unfortunately Le Grand Aioli was not my favourite dish of the week. It turns out I don't care for mussels (not really a fan of shrimp, either, although they're surprisingly photogenic). I think when I make aioli again, I'll buck tradition and serve it with raw veggies (maybe some roasted too, but not steamed) and fried fish (sort of a combination of Provence and Greece). But, despite my lack of enthusiasm for the results of my last cooking lesson, the week didn't end on a bad note at all. Gina prepared a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean farewell feast that was perfect.

Tabbouli (made with the local variety of spelt), baba ghanouj, cucumbers in yogurt, hummus, and shish-ka-bob

 

I had a fantastic week at Maison Trevier: the lessons were excellent, the food was some of the best I've had, Gina was a wonderful hostess. I tried all sorts of dishes and ingredients I had never tried before. I even learned to like wine. I left inspired and excited about coming back again (I hear winter is truffle season in Provence...)

Okay,, so enough about food--what about France? More posts coming soon...

Missed a post? 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 1 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 2

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 3

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 4 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 5

Photos ©Whimsy Bower

[Edited to update title and for formatting. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]

Awesome Carrot Cake (with non-cream cheese icing): Recipe

 

Cake when done wrong is a travesty: dry, bland, heavy. Cake when done right, however, is moist, delicious, rich--you want to keep eating until it makes you sick (although hopefully it never goes that far). This carrot cake is done right.

 

The ingredients you'll need

Oil, sugar, eggs

The wet ingredients after mixing

Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon

Toasted pecans

A few pulses of the food processor and the pecans are chopped

A food processor will save your sanity (and possibly your knuckles): these carrots took seconds to grate.

Carrots, pineapple, coconut, pecans, vanilla

After the final mixing

Ready to go

Freshly baked

Deliciously browned on the bottom too

The SO doesn't like cream cheese so I went with a buttercream icing: powdered sugar, butter, milk, vanilla

Cake sandwich of deliciousness

I pretty much suck at icing cakes but this one isn't too bad.

Worth the effort, the wait, and the calories.

 

Awesome Carrot Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
[My cake was made using this recipe.]

Cake:
Wet Ingredients
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil [I used sunflower]
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs [I use free range]

Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

The Extras
2 cups grated carrots [about 8 small-medium]
1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup pecans, toasted* and chopped
1 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix wet ingredients until well blended. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until blended. Stir in extras just until incorporated. Batter will be lumpy.

Pour batter into a lightly greased 9 x 13" pan, or two 8 or 9" pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. I found that my cakes were browning too quickly while remaining liquid on the inside, so for the last 10 minutes or so I reduced the oven temperature to 300F. Cool cakes in pans, then gently turn out onto rack. Let cakes cool completely before icing.

*To toast, place nuts on an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 300F for about 10 minutes or until lightly fragrant.

Vanilla Buttercream

Carrot cake is usually served with a cream cheese icing, which is lovely but not everyone likes cream cheese--including my SO. But he does like carrot cake. Wanting to make an iced carrot cake he would enjoy I tried Magnolia's vanilla buttercream recipe, and I'm happy to report it was a resounding success. The buttercream is easy to make, delicious, and works well with this cake. Feel free to use whatever icing you like but I highly recommend trying this one at least once.

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9" cake or for 2 dozen cupcakes

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 to 6 cups powdered (aka confectioners') sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then milk and vanilla. On medium speed of an electric mixer beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all the sugar [I only needed to add one additional cup]. If desired add a few drops of food colouring and mix thoroughly [I didn't add any]. Use and store the icing at room temperature because it will set if it's chilled. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Photos by Whimsy Bower

 

 [Edited to update title. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]